PAISLEY — Raymond E. Robinson says government computers mistakenly have classified him as dead, not once but twice in the last three months.

When the government stopped his Veterans Administration benefit checks, Robinson had to take out a $2,500 loan to pay bills.

''At first I laughed. If you are alive and well, it's kind of a funny thing, but when my money didn't come in, I stopped laughing,'' said Robinson, 64, a World War II veteran who served in the Pacific. He is not able to work because of a service-connected nervous disorder.

Sylvia Robinson said the first letter telling her of her husband's death was waiting at their house in January when they returned from a visit to Michigan.

The letter said the benefit checks, which were deposited directly to the couple's bank, were halted in November.

''We were in a mess with the bank financially because everything was haywire,'' she said.

Bill Bryant, a VA spokesman in the St. Petersburg regional office, said the administration received notice Nov. 21 from the outpatient clinic in Orlando of Robinson's death.

''We checked the name for claims data, verified it and terminated the benefits,'' he said.